‘Dancing with the Stars’ Season 32 Is Still on, Despite WGA Strike
Photo by: ABC/Paula Lobo Reading Time: 2 minutes
Dancing with the Stars reportedly plans to go forward with Season 32, despite being a WGA-covered show. Some people have accused the show of crossing the picket line amid the ongoing writers’ strike, calling for this season’s stars to drop out.
Dancing with the Stars Goes Forward Amid WGA Strike
According to Variety, the series employs a 500-person crew, including one WGA writer. Much of the show is unscripted, but this writer apparently works with the hosts. During the last writers’ strike in 2007 and 2008, DWTS also stayed in production. The writer was re-hired when the strike was over.
“Everyone’s focus is to keep 500 people employed,” a source told Variety of the decision to move forward with the season. They added that the writer will return to work when the strike has ended.
This season will reportedly be in compliance with SAG-AFTRA strike rules. Although members (including Barry Williams, Alyson Hannigan, and Mira Sorvino) are allowed to appear, their past SAG-AFTRA projects cannot be discussed.
The show has earned backlash on social media for moving forward during the strike, with some people changing the title to Dancing with the Scabs or Scabbing with the Stars. A “scab” is another word for a strikebreaker.
Dancing with the Stars is a WGA show, and so its writers are on strike.
— David August 🌻 (@DavidAugust) September 18, 2023
They need to shut down until they make a deal with the writers. https://t.co/V7jJISuOdy #WritersStrike #WGAstrong #WGAstrike #DrewTheWriteThing #DWTS #UnionStrong #u1 pic.twitter.com/q3DknEHYtN
Cheryl Burke Shares Her Opinion on the Issue
Former DWTS pro dancer Cheryl Burke weighed in on the strike issue in a new interview with Variety. She shared that she has “mixed feelings” about the show returning, especially after witnessing the backlash Drew Barrymore received for returning to her show.
“In order for things to change, we have to stick together, point blank, because if one show just decides to think about the show on its own, this is not going to make big changes,” Burke shared. “It is not going to change the way these other people — the opposing team — are thinking.”
Ultimately, Burke said she thinks the show “should hold tight,” adding, “I think we need to stand as one. We need to unite for real, and not just say we’re united.”
Season 32 of Dancing with the Stars is scheduled to premiere on Tuesday, September 26, on ABC and Disney+.
